I've been working on a lot of projects at work, and registering classes for next semester, but I've found some time to get everyone caught up on new magazine details. For the sake of being crunched for time, I'm posting multiple magazine previews from multiple sources.

OPS Australia Preview

# People are reading newspapers, gesturing whilst talking on their mobile phones, people sitting on seats while talking and absent-mindedly flicking dust off their jeans. "We really know we're in Liberty City when we see an 80-year old granny staggering down the street as she takes swigs from a bottle of whiskey."

# You can feel the bass of passing cars, and hear the radio that they're listening to when it goes past.

# Niko passes an ATM and it prompts him to "access funds". It's likely that if you die, you may lose all your money, so putting it in a bank when you get a substantial amount seems like a good idea. The magazine also hints at being able to bribe people and the possibility of being mugged.

# As has been said, one can travel from the road into a building with no load times. Manual aim has been upgraded considerably from SA, and is now much easier.

# Niko exits into a seedy back alley, where it is "populated by piles of litter, weeds and homeless guys huddling around fires in barrels."

# As Niko ascends a telegraph pole, the animations are smooth. Also, at the top, the vertical density of the city can be fully realized. "The skyline is crowded with complex architecture, above-ground train-lines, fire escapes, endless billboards and the Broker Bridge in the distance."

# Niko breaks into an easy jog, showing realistic fluidity, leaning his body into corners as he takes them. A random passing car bumps into him and Niko stumbles backwards before regaining composure.

# Niko smashes a car window, hot-wires the car and climbs in while glass clatters to the ground.

# Broker has the real-life feeling of a bustling, lush new cityscape. Sunlight reflects off the car's paintwork, and the shadows are beautifully realized. The back streets of Broker, however, are much different. They are "a grungy mixture of rundown factories, overflowing dumpsters and dank back alleys."

# Driving physics have been "tirelessly tweaked and enhanced"

# On the size of GTA IV: "Dan Houser: Well, area wise, the scope is about the same as San Andreas. I don't know exactly how it compares area to area, but it's bigger then any one city we've had in a game before." Also, "If we give people exactly what they think the want then, a) we're not doing a very interesting job any more and, b) we're not going to amaze them."

# OPS asked "In terms of weaponry and vehicles you had a pretty good spread in San Andreas," to which Dan Houser replied "Yeah, I don't think we will be adding vast numbers of things there." They explain that its about honing in and tightening. "So, for example, with game in one city there are no longer planes because there's nowhere to fly to. ...you take planes to get here, and you don't take planes to get across the city."

# A big part of the gameplay will be on the rooftops, apparently. It should be very fun.

# Also, as a side note, they haven't really thought about San Andreas Stories, they are thinking of other things at the moment.

# You can view the bus schedule at bus stops around this city, strongly encouraging the idea that players will be able to ride the bus for a small fee.

# When Niko draws a weapon, the camera will position itself over his shoulder and a crosshair will appear in the center of the screen, similar to manual aim in San Andreas. It will be possible to lock onto a target and strafe left and right to avoid any oncoming bullets.

# Grand Theft Auto will not longer be as easy as it's been in GTA IV's predecessors. You can't just jump into a car and immediately floor it. You may have to hot wire the car, or sneak up to it and break the window to enter.

# Niko will be able to climb several things such as telephone poles and fire escapes.

# You can look down into the grating of a sidewalk panel and view what's under Liberty City. Light will shine down into these places.

# Philip Glass, the composer of the trailer music, may be involved in the production of the game's soundtrack.

# Niko will be able to climb and descend exterior fire escapes and some meetings will take place high in the office buildings of skyscrapers. It's said that from on top of them you'll be able to throw people off.

# Hand to hand combat is also being reworked on for GTA IV, and will feel "much more natural" than before.

# One of the radio stations includes an "Eastern European-sounding" dancing station. No song artists have been confirmed yet.

# For confirmation, boats will be making a return and the handling is "really nice".

# When selecting your mobile phone, a zoomed-in version of the mobile screen pops up in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, where you can use its address book to pitch for "jobs" with gang contacts among other things.

# Dan Houser is quoted saying that the Liberty City in GTA IV is bigger than any single city they've done before, giving a more clear indication of the physical size of the game. He continues saying that the "detail" of the game is the big thing.

# Dan says that they're "certainly evolving the way the radio works". He says the same for police behaviour and their reaction to crimes. Nothing further is said about this...

# "Fun ridiculous" weapons is said to be in the game, because R* is not going too "naturalistic".